neoncat

mknelson said:

neoncat said:

inglorious_bastard said:

I’ve always wanted a satellite capable phone just to to be free of tower restrictions and when rumors came out about the 14 having hybrid capabilities I was excited.  But now that I see that the new 14 is a very very limited satellite system, I’m less excited about it.   It seems like sat PLB and phones have been around a long time now so this isn’t bleeding edge technology- why did apple come out with such a very delimited functionality for this service rather than full satellite text and/or voice?

Because satellite communication is bandwidth limited and power intensive. LEO constellations (like Starlink) help change those metrics a bit, but not to the extent that it would be able to serve the communication needs of tens of millions of iPhone users. A cellular tower can always have more spectrum assigned to it, and have its backhaul expanded, to serve a greater number of users. If you want to improve a satellite constellation with new technology or to serve more users faster, your only option is to launch a better satellite. That is incredibly complex and expensive. The cost/benefit is never going to support ubiquitous satellite communications over continuous improvement in the cellular network.

Power and antenna size considerations are still a factor with Starlink. Look at the size of the Starlink antennas (and how Cats use them to warm up in cool weather). Those are some sort of phased array to track the satellites as they whiz past.

Traditional satellite phones have large external antennas and still aren't terribly reliable.

Absolutely. I was merely saying that Starlink's approach—tons of smaller, cheaper satellites flying lower, versus fewer, larger satellites flying much higher—does at least tweak the economics of evolving the service technologically over time.

inglorious_bastard said:

I’ve always wanted a satellite capable phone just to to be free of tower restrictions and when rumors came out about the 14 having hybrid capabilities I was excited.  But now that I see that the new 14 is a very very limited satellite system, I’m less excited about it.   It seems like sat PLB and phones have been around a long time now so this isn’t bleeding edge technology- why did apple come out with such a very delimited functionality for this service rather than full satellite text and/or voice?

Because satellite communication is bandwidth limited and power intensive. LEO constellations (like Starlink) help change those metrics a bit, but not to the extent that it would be able to serve the communication needs of tens of millions of iPhone users. A cellular tower can always have more spectrum assigned to it, and have its backhaul expanded, to serve a greater number of users. If you want to improve a satellite constellation with new technology or to serve more users faster, your only option is to launch a better satellite. That is incredibly complex and expensive. The cost/benefit is never going to support ubiquitous satellite communications over continuous improvement in the cellular network.

rumpels said:

we all want round edges 

We do? I admit, there were lots of reasons why I upgraded from an iPhone 11 to an iPhone 13 Pro earlier this year (mostly camera related), but one of them absolutely was to get the slab-sides physical form. For me, at least, I find it far more pleasant to hold. I didn't hate the rolled edge of the 11 or anything, but I didn't love it, either. 

JP234 said:

Interning at Apple should be a dream come true for any tech-minded young person in the world.

Lots and lots of people go to work for Apple. I know several. They all speak fondly of the experience. Yet every single of one of them eventually left for something better for them, and all stayed there under 5 years. It's just a job, and it's just yet another massive tech company. They're interchangeable. There's nothing particularly special or unique about Apple's intern programs or their employment benefits. It all comes down to opportunity, and for a given engineer with a given skill set, that may lead to a dead end in one place and endless opportunity in another. That's what matters, not the logo on the door.

When the port was dropped from the iPhone, I neither celebrated it as "courage" or bemoaned it as the end times. It was easy enough to adjust, and to be honest, I quite like my AirPods (and the various no-name bluetooth headphones I've owned for years). But this unrelenting need to reinvent the narrative of every. little. thing. Apple does as manifest destiny, the very prow of technology cutting the ice of the unwashed, is completely miserable to read. Sorry, it just reads like weird fan-service.

Please know I really appreciate 99% of what AI does. Your how-to guides are among the best on the 'net.